Dear RSNS Community,
This Shabbat, we begin the Book of Devarim, also known as Deuteronomy. It opens with Moses standing before the Israelites on the edge of the Promised Land, offering a series of speeches — devarim, “words” — to help the people remember their past, wrestle with their present, and prepare for their future. These are not abstract words. They are words of moral reckoning, words of legacy, and ultimately, words that move people toward action.
In that spirit, I am deeply moved to share that a group from our congregation will be traveling to Israel at the beginning of August as part of the RSNS Volunteer Mission, supported by the UJA Surge Grant. The mission’s purpose is not simply to witness, but to engage — physically, emotionally, and spiritually — with the complexity of this moment in Israeli and Jewish life.
Since October 7th, the landscape of Israel — and the emotional terrain of the Jewish people — has shifted. Devarim reminds us that we must confront hard truths and hold fast to sacred responsibility. Moses asks: Are you ready to lead? Are you willing to remember? Will you choose compassion and justice as your compass?
These are the same questions we are asking ourselves on this journey:
• Is it the same Israel?
• Are we the same people?
• What kind of Jewish future are we committed to building — together?
Our itinerary takes us from Jerusalem’s ancient stones to the revitalizing fields of the Negev. We will visit sacred sites and burial grounds. We will pack food boxes at Latet and harvest crops in northern farms abandoned during the war. We will work with children with special needs in Akko and with teens rebuilding communities in the Gaza envelope. We will hear the stories of soldiers, bereaved parents, displaced families, and survivors of the Nova Festival. We will pray with Beit Tefillah Yisraeli, learn from Rachel Korazim, and walk the co-existence paths of Jaffa and Tel Aviv. We will end by planting and dreaming — literally — in a garden in Kfar Saba.
Even if you are not physically traveling with us, you are with us. This is a mission for all of RSNS. The words we carry with us are yours too: your hopes, your questions, your commitment to being a part of the Jewish story, even when it’s hard — especially when it’s hard.
We are going not only to do the work of our hands but also to open our hearts and minds. Our task, like Moses’s, is to speak, to listen, and to act. And when we return, we will share our stories with you — not just in words, but in new partnerships, new justice projects, new prayers, and new possibilities for what our RSNS-Israel relationship can be.
May the words of Devarim — and the actions of our mission — remind us all that this sacred journey is not bound by geography. It is lived in community, sustained by memory, and powered by hope.
With love and anticipation,
Rabbi Jodie
